Since our founding, MALDEF has fought to ensure students have equal access to educational opportunities.
In Martinez v. State of New Mexico, a state court ruled that New Mexico’s education system violates the state constitution because it fails to provide students a sufficient public education.
Marcias vs Filippini
Sanders v. Kern High School District
LOS ANGELES – MALDEF sent a letter to New Haven Unified School District (NHUSD) officials today warning that the district’s at-large system of electing board members violates the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA). In the letter, sent to Sharan Takhar Kaur,...
read moreLOS ANGELES – MALDEF sent a letter to Adelanto school officials Wednesday, warning that the district’s at-large system of electing Board of Trustees members violates the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA). In the letter, sent to Christine Turner,...
read moreLOS ANGELES, CA – MALDEF sent a letter to Union City officials today warning that the city’s at-large system of electing the city council and mayor violates the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA). In the letter, sent to Mayor Carol Dutra-Vernaci, MALDEF...
read moreLos Angeles, CA – A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former mayor of Poway that sought to overturn the city’s district based election system and challenged the constitutionality of the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). “The civil-rights...
read moreSan Antonio, TX – A federal court today formally restrained 13 counties named in MALDEF’s lawsuit from removing individuals from voter rolls. The court also ordered the Texas Secretary of State to similarly advise counties. Acting on the legal technicalities of what...
read moreSan Antonio, TX – In response to MALDEF’s motion for a temporary restraining order, a federal court on Monday restrained 10 counties in Texas from carrying out voter purges. “Voter intimidation and voter purge can cause irreparable injury in very short order, so I...
read moreLos Angeles, CA – Today, a federal judge dismissed the California Attorney General from a lawsuit that sought to overturn the City of Poway’s election system and challenged the constitutionality of the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). The ruling comes in response...
read moreSan Antonio, TX – A group of naturalized citizens and advocacy organizations filed a lawsuit against the Texas Secretary of State for conspiring with Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to violate their Constitutional rights by improperly and...
read moreLos Angeles, CA - Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), issued the following statement in response to today’s federal court ruling vacating the Trump administration’s decision to add a...
read moreWashington, D.C. - A federal court today rejected the Trump Administration’s request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by civil rights organizations that challenges the addition of a citizenship question to Census 2020 on the grounds that it is discriminatory and motivated...
read moreSanders v. Kern High School District
In 1974, MALDEF filed a desegregation case on behalf of Latino parents and students in Tucson, Arizona. More than 30 years later, MALDEF continues to protect the rights of Latino and minority students in the district.
In a troubling and potentially short-sighted June 2007 decision, the United States Supreme Court held that school systems violated the Equal Protection clause when they considered race in assigning students to public schools to achieve desegregation. At issue in the two consolidated cases, Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education, was the continued authority of local school districts to take voluntary action to reduce racial segregation and isolation in their schools.
In the most recent state school finance case, West Orange-Cove C.I.S.D. v. Neeley, wealthy school districts challenged the state financing system arguing that the tax cap prevented them from meeting the accreditation standards imposed by the state and from exercising meaningful discretion in setting their tax rates, thus constituting an illegal state tax.
This case was filed in 1970 by the United States against the Ector County Independent School District for failing to desegregate its public schools and that same year, the United States District Court Judge ordered the District to desegregate. In 1981, MALDEF intervened on behalf of an organization of Latino and African American parents of school children because the District had never submitted a desegregation plan and the District continued to operate a dual school system.
MALDEF joined forces with the Los Angeles Unified School District, frustrated parents and students to fight against the Los Angeles Conservancy who moved to delay school construction. With successful results families who face the detrimental effects of overcrowded schools, can now anticipate three new schools in the area.
MALDEF represented Latino parents who alleged that Preston Hollow Elementary School illegally used its ESL program to segregate Latino and minority students from Anglo students, irrespective of their language abilities.
Providing Access to Quality Education
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund